Who would have two morning newspapers delivered to their home? My husband and me, that’s who. We’re old fashioned people who grew up in the days when they were a major source of news about current events. Now, there’s little in the papers that we haven’t seen on the internet or TV. Consequently, obituaries are the only unique stories newspaper have to offer. Newspapers would die without obits.
With newspapers pages dwindling, there’s less “hard news” . Readers look for juicy scandals and crime and major events. They’re interested in local politics that affect their lives. We don’t get much hard news lately. There aren’t enough reporters on staff. Therefore, we get more” soft news”. Long stories about sick children with rare diseases, or protest marches. Columns of print about frogs or daffodils or the changing of the season. Recipes make good fillers, too. The ones that make it to print are full of weird ingredients and time consuming procedures. I used to try some of those recipes. As a result, my cupboards got overloaded with strange spices that I never used.
The only unique thing about newspapers are the obituaries. They’ve undergone some radical changes in the past decade. Time was when obits were fairly cut and dried. Year of birth. Marriages. Children. Education. Clubs . Survivors. Profession. Charities . Date and time of funeral. Long obituaries were discouraged for the average, middle class person.
Obituaries have become like mini biographies We learn the deceased was the youngest or oldest of 10 children. What schools they attended from kindergarten on up. Scholastic achievements and honors. Whether they were football players or cheerleaders or valedictorians . Often married “the love of their life..” Became a fabulous mother/father, grandparent, host and friend. Enjoyed pastimes like bowling, painting, golfing, bridge. Had hobbies like quilting or woodworking. Every award they ever received in their entire life. Each job they held,. Countries visited, Volunteer work . A lot of creative writing goes into a decent obituatry.
I love reading obituaries, especially if the deceased was very old. Of course, we never read about their failures and disappointments. Consequently, the fantasy of a perfect life is carefully preserved for posterity. Doesn’t everybody love a happy ending?
Newspapers would die without the obituaries.